The Real Dirty Mets Blog


Make It Or Break It: Dan “The Iron Man” Murphy

Posted by dirtysanchez on 9:00am, Friday September 18th 2009

Cubs Mets Baseball

The next player in the “Make it or break it” series is none other than Daniel Murphy. Talk about a roller coaster of a season this kid has had. Daniel Murphy started the year as the Mets LF and will finish the year as the Mets 1B.  Lets take a look at the two halfs of his season in 2009 as well as the reason Daniel broke camp as the Mets STARTING left fielder.

Late 2008

The Mets were in a redemption season, as they ended the previous one making history as the biggest collapse in baseball history. With all the drama surrounding the Mets with a midseason managerial change and several injuries along the way, the Mets promoted Daniel Murphy on August 2nd after they had just placed Marlon Anderson on the DL. In his first at bat, Murphy laced a single against Roy Oswalt. According to Wikipedia, Daniel as of August 9, 2008 was only the 5th Mets rookie to record 10 hits in his first 20 at-bats. Daniel was known for his bat (.290 career avg in the minors) and work ethic and both were on display from day one. Daniel kept a workman’s like approach at the plate and turned in some impressive performances, as evidence by him seeing an average of 4.25 pitches per at bat. Daniel finished out the year in the majors with a .313avg/2 Hr’s/.871 OPS. During a offseason that showcased several outfielders, they chose to stick with their youth and home grown player…mostly because of what he showcased for the last 2 months of the season.

Early 2009/Present

After a busy offseason for the Mets, they were ready to make some noise and Daniel made his presence known from the start. Murphy’s 2 run homerun in the season opener turned out to be all the offense for the Mets and they went on the beat the Reds by the score of 2-1. While offense did not seem to be an issue for Daniel, his defense was a whole other story. Daniel made 3 errors in 27 games in LF. One of his errors ended up costing the Mets a game against the Marlins Josh Johnson as the unearned runs played the difference in the game and handed Mets ace Johan Santana the loss. Daniel had a .950 fielding percentage but did have 1 assist and 1 double play. As a foreshadowing of what was to come, in May the Mets 1b man Carlos Delgado went down with an injury that later resulted in hip surgery that put the big guy out until(at that time) September. Seeing an opportunity to put Daniel Murphy in a situation that he would be more familiar with given his minor league experience at 3b(196 games), the Mets decided to give Murphy a shot at 1b on May 20. Since that time, Murphy at 1b has been an adventure. At times, Daniel would show flashes of brilliance at 1b that would make Keith Hernandez proud but others his inexperience at the position would rear its ugly head. Daniel has committed 10 errors at 1b but his fielding percentage is .987 and has 71 double plays. Daniel is currently batting .261 with 55 Rbi’s and 9 homeruns. Daniel Murphy is the only man other than Luis Castillo from the season opening lineup that has not landed on the DL and Daniel actually played the most games out of all the Mets at 140.

Future

Now if I knew the future I probably would have my own island because I would much rather use this ability to win the lotto several times over as I’m sure most people would. I don’t know what will happen with Murphy but I will present several arguments. Daniel Murphy is only 24 years old and is extremely cheap. The first baseman FA class is very uninspiring as the most appealing names are Nick Johnson (who comes with injury concerns) and Adam Laroche. Murphy plugs a hole the Mets have for several years and if he does not improve, there is always Ike Davis working to make it to the show. However, the Mets are dead last in the MLB when it comes to HR production at 86. Going into the offseason, the Mets will lose their cleanup man Carlos Delgado who spent the majority of the year on the DL. This presents a big problem for a team that has a “pitchers park” and has struggled for power this season. As mentioned by several readers, a trade for Adrian Gonzalez would make the most sense for the Mets given their current predicament. A move such as this will most likely include Daniel Murphy in the mix. Will the Mets live up to the usual stereotype of big market clubs and choose to trade away home grown talent? One other thing that must be taken into consideration is money. The Mets insist they will not cut payroll but there is almost a new report each day from various sources that speaks of the contrary. The balance of money and team needs is a juggling act that may or may not spell the end of Daniel Murphy’s tenure with the Mets but his odds are really split down the middle at 50/50. Would you break the stereotype of big market clubs and stick with youth and a fan favorite or would you sacrifice your home grown player for the greater good. Thing is with Murphy, he brings intangibles that cannot be measured. Murphy is a grinder and works his ass off to be as good as he can be. Yes he is not a lock, but very few 24 year olds with less than a year of major league experience I’m sure are. Murphy is a person with a strong work ethic on a team that has been called into question regarding this attribute. As positive as someone with Murphy’s intangibles can be for this team, he may ultimately be used as a chip to obtain other talent. What do you think? Do you see Daniel Murphy as 2010’s starting 1b man?

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105 Responses to “Make It Or Break It: Dan “The Iron Man” Murphy”

  1. gategem says:

    I’m hoping that Murphy develops into a solid major league 1st baseman but an objective look does give one reason for pause. Murphy’s ranking versus other 1st baseman with at least 325 plate appearances:

    BA 25th
    OPB 29th
    SLG 27th
    RBI 25th
    HR 28th
    OPS 28th

    Murphy has not shown great physical abilities or good baseball instincts. But in his favor he does appear to work hard and is very diligent in his effort to improve himself. But I’m not sure just how much improvement can be expected.

  2. prismo says:

    The only way Murphy should stay at 1B is if the Mets get one of the top-notch left-fielders. Otherwise, 1B is a position that the Mets can upgrade (both offensively and defensively) without breaking the bank. I wouldn’t be opposed to trading Murphy in that scenario. I wonder what happened to his patience of last season…he’s walked FOUR times total in August/September. How brutal is that?

    • stickguy says:

      well, they put him at clean up on a team desperate for power production. And if he pays any attention to the media (or maybe this blog!) all you see is how they need more power from 1B, and Murphy doesn’t have enough poer to be a 1B.

      so, maybe, he is out there hacking on purpose? Trying to jack more balls, and drive in runs, as opposed to to being patient, and just taking walks 9often with no one behind him to drvie him in).

      I think you are seeing some of the same at the other corner of the infield, part of the reason for the huge K total.

  3. njstuckintx says:

    I like Murphy at first, but I think the short term solution is re-sign Delgado on a 1 yr deal, and look to fill LF and Pitcher positions. Murph has been ok at 1b, so there is your back up 1b (or 3b or OF for that matter) for when Delgado goes down. And it allows flexibility for Ike or a better free agent option for the future.

  4. trs86 says:

    At this point I would much rather go with short term solutions in LF and 1B and allow Murphy to become what I think his future is. A utility man. Send him to the minors to work on LF, 3B, 2B, 1B until June. Resign Delgado (unless Johnson will come on a 1 year 6M contract)and get a guy like Byrd, Abreu or even Damon in LF on a short term contract. This allows the Mets to develop a Carter or Fmart for LF and a Davis for 1B.

  5. CaseStreet says:

    Sorry, no Mets in the Papers today.

  6. CaseStreet says:

    Hell No! Delgado Must Go!

  7. Mr North Jersey says:

    Delgado, is he next year’s Luis Castillo?

    • trs86 says:

      Nah, I do not think he is as hated as Castillo was by many last year. Delgado already went through that in 2007. I think we are just all affraid that the injuries might continue and don’t want to depend on him. Now if the Mets said we are going to save money and the only thing we are doing is bringing back Delgado I would be furious. However, if they upgrade LF and the rotation and then still bring back Delgado I am fine.

      • Mr North Jersey says:

        I was thinking more like can he rebound to have a 2010 season that is way better than many of us expected from him coming into season.

        • trs86 says:

          Depends, what do we expect?
          I expect that if he gets 450 ABs he will hit
          .265, 25-30, 100

          • Mr North Jersey says:

            Wow if you expect that then I’d say he is def next year’s Castillo cause I don’t expect that from him more like I hope that from him.

            • trs86 says:

              What do you expect? Those are very Delgado numbers. Do you think if he gets 450+ AB’s he will be worse?

              • Mr North Jersey says:

                Well I am still wondering what Delgado will show up if he returns to Citi Fields in 2010 will it be the 1st half Delgado of 2008 or the 2nd half Delgado of 2008 the jury is still out.

                • trs86 says:

                  Even if he slides all the way back to that then he would still produce .250 30+ HR and 100 RBI. As bad as that 1st half was it was .248, 17 HR and 52 RBI. That’s Murphy for a full year.

                • Mr North Jersey says:

                  The 1st and 2nd half Delgado that I am talking about is the
                  before June 27th doubleheader vs yanks and the one after.

                  The before June 27 dblheader
                  after 75 games had
                  180 ab’s
                  011 hrs’s
                  035 rbi’s

                  after june 27th dblheader
                  418 ab’s
                  027 hr’s
                  080 rbi’s

                • trs86 says:

                  OK so strecth even those numbers out to 450 AB’s. Would he produce more than Murphy this year?

                • fongy2 says:

                  Yeah but next season would be 2 yrs removed from that with a 37/38 yr old
                  immobile player whos coming off a serious
                  imjury and who after being pretty healthly
                  his wholw career, really has started to break down since he turned 35.
                  Also, his prior #s were in Shea,not exactly
                  a hitters park but clearly more of one than Citifield. Its time for a chamge, not just in the field but also the clubhouse.

                • trs86 says:

                  That’s 28 HR and 88 RBI based on those numbers over 180 AB’s.

                • trs86 says:

                  What does Citi have to do with Mets HR Fongy? We have hit more in Citi than on the road. Besides Delgado looked pretty damn good before the surgery and being LH Citi actually plays to his power.

                • trs86 says:

                  And I can’t believe YOU are one of those guys who is big on clubhouse chemistry. Think the Yankee’s collection of mercenaries have chemistry if they were losing?

              • fongy2 says:

                Baseball isn’t just played on the field my friend,
                theres been something missing/wrong with the chemistry of this team. As for the yankees,
                although it cost a ton guys like Tex and Swisher
                are ultimate games who have obviously helped the chemistry there.

                • Mr North Jersey says:

                  Let’s not make this a yank met thing guys their story has yet to be written.

                • trs86 says:

                  I am only using them as an example of hired hands. The Red Sox championship year they all hated each other. The 1986 Mets hated each other. Chemistry is overrated, this is coming from a coach.

  8. stickguy says:

    I switched positions and now vote for a 1 year, low base + incentives deal for Delgado. If, of course, he will accept it.

    I wanted him gone last off season, but the situation was different. He was getting paid quite a bit for 2009, and theoretically, could have brought back something useful. Now, he would come cheap, and they get nothing if he leaves.

    ANd at least he had the hip fixed. That was the ticking time bomb.

    Like TRS said, if he isn’t too expensive, you cut bait and move on. Keeping Murphy as a super sub, and really, what have you lost?

    Get a decent guy for LF (byrd is one name, no to damon, but there are other potions, FA or trade). Or possibly go with a committee based on who earns it (pagan, Carter, etc. I still want Matt Murton brought in too). That wil lbe cheap.

    Then, load up the payroll on better pitching. If they think Lackey is for real, and will stay healthy, put the money there, then a 2nd SP that should be cheaper (one of the risk/reward guys). I actually think Myers is the best bet. Harden I like, but he could be too expensive, and too high risk.

    Besides, Myers loves the pen, and would be happy to close again if K rod went down, and should be able to handle the putz role if needed.

    Get the vet catcher if he will be better than Santos, since I think Thole is palying his way into a job, but I would rather see him paired with a vet to help him out.

    castillo
    reyes (yes, I want looie leading off if he is here)
    wright
    beltran
    delgado
    francouer
    LF
    C

    santana
    lackey
    myers
    pelfrey
    maine/ollie/neise/neive/etc.

    • trs86 says:

      No vet catchers out there better than Santos considering the price. Do you not read my post. LOL.

    • trs86 says:

      By the way, I know Damon is a bad word around here but if he would be CHEAP he could be next year’s Abreu. An .861 OPS is nothing to sneeze at. That’s higher than Wright.

      • stickguy says:

        you think he hits any HRs at Citi instead of the band box across town?

        That and the noodle arm get me. Any time you have to put one of your fastest players as the DH, not a good sign.

        I actually think he wil lbe back for 1 year on the yankees, but if he gets cut loose and free falls, and takes a low base 1 year deal, it wouldn’t hurt.

        I do want a guy out in LF that can play solid D if possible.

        • trs86 says:

          He has actually been very good in the field this year. He has not DHed much. HR? No but that’s not his game anyway. He would rack up plenty of doubles and give an option to break up Wright and Frenchy while only on a 1 year contract.
          Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Delgado, Wright, Damon, Frenchy, Santos is much better than this year. IF Delgado and Damon miss time due to age then you have Pagan and Murphy. Thing is I don’t expect anymore season long injuries.
          As for the Yankee’s I expect them to let him walk like Abreu and then go out and get a stud LF. They have left over cash to do it for sure.

          • Mr North Jersey says:

            I ahve to agree with stick. The idea of having Damon roaming LF is just as scary as putting Murphy out there it scare the shyt out of me. I’d rather have someone out there that knows what they are doing.

            • trs86 says:

              Damon has played a very decent LF this year though. You can’t compare him to Murphy. Also don’t forget he has experience at 1B too in the event of an emergency.

              I may be wrong but I don’t see many that can hit like him that will come that cheap. I don’t see him getting more than 5M.

              • fongy2 says:

                Come on! Damon can’t throw the ball on the fly
                from LF to 3B.

              • Mr North Jersey says:

                “this year” is correct and I will give you the benefit of the doubt on that since I haven’t followed Damon this season but historically Damon sucks as a fielder and in Citi Fields I see balls dropping in all over the place around him.

                • trs86 says:

                  I think with the Mets you can give up some OF defense in LF with Beltran and Frenchy in the other spots. I will sacrifice some defense there for hitting. Damon may not be it but I am not concerned over defense out there as long as they are an OF period. LOL. No more Murphy’s in the OF.

                • fongy2 says:

                  And ofcourse hes playing his rear off,
                  pushin’ that old body, its pay time baby!

                • trs86 says:

                  OK Fongy so what about last year when he hit .303 and had a .375 OBP while playing 100+ games in the OF?

                • fongy2 says:

                  Bottom line, you want to give Damon a multi
                  yr contract worth tens of Mils in his
                  mid 30s??

                • trs86 says:

                  Uh no. Come on Fongy READ.
                  “I know Damon is a bad word around here but if he would be CHEAP he could be next year’s Abreu”
                  “He would rack up plenty of doubles and give an option to break up Wright and Frenchy while only on a 1 year contract.”
                  “I may be wrong but I don’t see many that can hit like him that will come that cheap. I don’t see him getting more than 5M.”

                  Dang, Fongy could I have said it any more clearly.
                  The only way I would be interested is if it were Abreu like at 5M or less for 1 year.

                • fongy2 says:

                  Bottom line(again)…wait does that even make sense?…Thanks but no thanks to
                  Delgado and Damon,both of who i like but
                  we’ve been down that road already.
                  Delgado will be 38 during next season,has
                  played in 2700gms incl minors and spent the
                  1st 7/8 yrs of his career as a Catcher.
                  Damon will be 36 and has played in 2500gms.
                  If either were w/o a job when camp started,
                  ok maybe,but even w/that neither can play
                  more than 1 position and neither is very
                  good at that position. I for one love having vets at the end of their career on
                  the bench for leadership and to give 200/250 ABs but i doubt either of these
                  guys see themselves in that role.
                  Again, we can’t go into next season with
                  ??? and guys who are at the end of their careers being counted on to play everyday.
                  It just doesn’t work.

                • trs86 says:

                  Fongy you are killing me today.
                  Delgado only played 2 games at catcher in his career and came up at age 21. So unless you are counting his career as middle school up? LOL.
                  And IF the Mets are going to go with Murphy instead, how does that help things?

                • fongy2 says:

                  Pls, get your facts straight,Delgado
                  spent 5 yrs in the minors,from 89-93
                  Catching over 500 gms.

                • trs86 says:

                  “minors and spent the
                  1st 7/8 yrs of his career as a Catcher.”

                  Hmmm, math. Math gives me 5 years of partially playing C. Hmmm math, 500 games total, lets see that would be hmm 4 seasons tops.

    • CaseStreet says:

      ok, I want Pedro back w/ a Delgado type deal. high risk/reward.

      • trs86 says:

        Not the same. Pedro wanted too much money and had not been healthy for years and missed substantial time. Delgado although always hurting, this was the first year he had missed more than 20 games. Also, we have Murphy and uh Murphy to take his place at 1B. For #5 starter we have Maine, Niese, Nieve, Gee, etc to replace him.

        • stickguy says:

          actually, over the last couple of years, he had 2 basica problems. Wrist(s) and hip.

          The wrists, based on late 2008 and early 2009, seem to be fine now. And the hip has been fixed.

          I am actually less worried about his health on a 1 year deal now than I was last off season when they brought him back.

          • CaseStreet says:

            and hip surgery won’t affect his power?

            • trs86 says:

              Significantly? Most likely not. Just going by others who have had the same surgery. Also, how much was the pain affecting his power. Again, it’s 3-4 M what if his power is crap? Then we send him packing and we have Murphy again just like we will if we don’t sign him.
              I am telling you it will either be Delgado or Murphy. The Mets will not sign Johnson or LaRoche to multiyear contracts.

              • fongy2 says:

                None are his size,age or have played as many gms
                as he has. I really like Delgado but theres alot
                of wear on those threads.

              • trs86 says:

                There is, so if he sucks he goes to the bench, is traded to the AL to DH or is released. It’s only 3-4M. Again, to me it’s either him or Murphy. I would love to have Johnson, LaRoche, Pena, AGonz, Fielder but none of them are going to happen.

                • fongy2 says:

                  Its Murphys position.
                  The thing to do is bring in a veteran
                  Righty bat whos good in the clubhouse,
                  defensively on the field and who wont
                  squawk if he does play for a week.

                • trs86 says:

                  I love you Fongy but why the hell is it Murphy’s position? What has he done to earn that position yet? And again, that clubhouse junk. Its very overrated. As long as you win everyone is a good student.

                • fongy2 says:

                  Heres the problem with your thinking,
                  What goes on in the clubhouse greatly
                  effects what goes on in the field.
                  As for Murphy, do you really think the
                  FO who sold you on Murphy being the missing
                  piece to put us over the top as the LFer
                  isn’t going to take this opp given his
                  decent 2nd half,his age and how cheaply
                  he works to not hand him 1B?
                  And b/t/w, don’t tell be about the bronx zoo or the mid 70s A’s b/c those A’s teams
                  loved each other they were just a bunch of
                  loose,crazy guys AND the Bronx Zoo yankees
                  were not only more talented than everyone
                  else BUT also had a bunch of all time gamers who brought it everytime they hit the field.For every one of those examples
                  you might want to throw out there,I can give you an ‘88 Dodgers example or even
                  the current Phillies group.

                • trs86 says:

                  Then why did they even bring Delgado back last year considering even then Omar was saying he saw Murphy as a 1B replacement. They never tried to see me that Murphy was the missing link. They tried to sell me that he was worth a shot considering what was on the market and I disagreed then too.

                  But based on his performance and comments I don’t think 1B is locked up for him at all. Also, based on comments about Delgado, I assume there is a very good chance he returns.

                • trs86 says:

                  How many teams do you know that won with little talent and did it because of chemistry. Now how many teams do you know that won inspite of chemsitry. It’s overrated. Give me the team with the most talent and a good motivator for manager any day over a group of guys that love each other.

                • fongy2 says:

                  Did you ever take a good look at that ‘88
                  Dodger team? Except for Hershiser and Gibson it looks like a friggin’ expansion team. And Bringing back Delgado for this
                  season made sense to me BUT look how that worked out! Another yr older coming off a serious injury,having gotten through Murps
                  first full season AND you want to try Delgado again. Not to mention how commanding his presence is in that clubhouse? This sounds alot like my NY Rangers thinking for yrs w/ Messier.

                • trs86 says:

                  So you are more comfortable with what Murphy alone will give us at 1B? If so then we will just disagree. In fact for all we know Murphy may have overachieved with his doubles and HR power.

                • trs86 says:

                  Did you ever see the 86 Mets, they hated each other’s guts. Or the 2007 Red Sox?

                • fongy2 says:

                  No I’m not happy w/the thought of just Murph @ 1B next season but reality is what
                  it is and I have little doubt that the FO
                  will attempt to re-tool the easiest,cheapest way and through their eyes I can’t see how they wouldn’t be
                  confident in murphy.

        • CaseStreet says:

          right, for 2010. Pedro on a incentives deal. He’s shown he can pitch. far removed from surgery. and we have all those guys to replace Pedro if he gets injured.

          Plus, it wouldn’t block one of our can’t miss SP prospects the following year.

          • trs86 says:

            Again, we have guys who I think can produce the same as Pedro over the course of a full year in Maine, Nieve, Niese, Gee etc. We don’t have that for 1B. In other words we have no 1B and plenty of #5 starters.

  9. trs86 says:

    I think many on here have said it correctly.

    Delgado if cheap buys 3-4M worth of TIME. Time for Murphy to get going, Ike to get better, Fmart to develop….

    • CaseStreet says:

      I get ur point. I just think you are putting too much stock into Davis and Delgado.

      I don’t want to see Murph as the 1B starter and would be scared to trust Delgado do have a healthy and productive season.

      The other options aren’t great, but they at least marginally improve 1B.

      Yes, we could save at 1B and use it for Lackey. But, 1) he’d be overpriced and 2) like Bay and Holliday, there’ll be a big market for Lackey.

      • trs86 says:

        I am not puting that much stock in either. I am just chosing to go with Delgado at 3-4M over Murphy with Murphy there in case Delgado does as you expect. I just don’t see the Mets getting one of the other guys that will look for a long term contract.

        • CaseStreet says:

          why not long term @ 1B but yes long term @ LF?

          • trs86 says:

            Because the guys that are available for 1B are not worth Longterm contracts and they won’t want to block Davis. You may think that is wrong but that’s the vibe I get.
            I think they see Fmart as a guy who could take LF or RF but may have soured on him a little.
            Again, I hope I am wrong and they sign Johnson but I am willing to bet they don’t.

            • CaseStreet says:

              don’t want to block Davis after 1/2 a season in AA?

              how’d they sour on F-Mart? cuz he seriously struggled in 100 PA and got hurt? he’s the best prospect in the system.

              so they expect all prospects to have immediate success or they’ll sour on them.

              i have no idea what they’d do but I hope they wouldn’t make decisions about the Mets based on what prospects may or may not make it to Queens.

              • trs86 says:

                Again, I am just basing this on comments and feelings. You can dream of Nick on a 2-3 year contract if you like. I just don’t see it.

                • CaseStreet says:

                  doesn’t have to be Nick, could be someone else as long as it’s not Murph or Delgado.
                  I hope your feelings are wrong cuz I unlike you won’t be happy w/ either one at 1B next year, even if it meant signing Lackey to a bloated contract.

                • trs86 says:

                  I too would much rather have another guy, but if not Nick or LaRoche who gives you the butterflies?

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